Terminology: Robots, humanoids, androids and gynoids

Different authors use the same words or terms in different meanings and make things even more complicated there is no “correct” way to use certain terms. Hence each author is free to use those words as he or she sees fit.

On this site I use the words “robot”, “humanoid”, “android” and “gynoid” in a specific meaning. Here one will find my definitions.

Robot – a fully mechanical being which can be used for a wide variety of tasks, as such a very broad category.

Humanoid – a type of robot with a human shape and designed to mimic human behaviour.

Android – a specific type of humanoids designed to be indistinguishable from real humans, in particular male humans.